She has shown little inclination from what I've seen. Instead she throws her weight around indiscriminately. She went way too far backing McCain and had no business backing Fiorina.
Her real test is in assembling a solid team of knowledgeable loyal people in those areas where she is lacking. Reagan certainly did.
Reagan spent years traveling the country learning how real business works in the company of a GE manufacturing expert Lemuel Boulwars:
But Reagan learned more in his GE years than a set of prepared remarks. He became familiar with such diverse thinkers as von Mises, Lenin, Hayek, and the Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu. He read and reread the practical economics of Henry Hazlitt. He quoted Jefferson, Madison and Hamilton. He observed GE’s vice president Lemuel Boulware, whom many leaders in corporate America regarded as the most successful labor negotiator of all time, and Reagan himself sharpened his negotiating skills during this period when he served another term as president of the Screen Actors Guild.
That is what I mean by learning. Reagan didn't spend two years; it was eight years of immersion in free market economics and manufacturing at the side of an exert and outstanding communicator. Palin shows no such inclination; she's running around shooting off her ignorant mouth, not learning. Now, we many need her attractiveness to put the spotlight on local candidates, but I'll feel a lot better if she's spotted with a dog-eared copy of "Road to Serfdom" or better yet, one of MY books. :-)
If she has the wisdom to choose the right people and uses her authority to provide the political will to move the best ideas from these people forward she could be an excellent President.
The wrong people will be throwing themselves at her from every side, all breathing pleasing prose. I can only imagine.
A President doesn’t have to know everything - and simply cannot. What makes an excellent President is having the wisdom to recognize other people who do have good workable ideas and putting them into action.
It takes a foundation upon which to build discernment. She's showing me little inclination to acquire one, preferring to be clever instead of knowledgeable.
She is clearly a shrewed politician and it takes brains to do that well. I don’t doubt her brain power in the political arena. You can’t fake it this long.
Unfortunately, when the audience is star-struck and as long as you keep moving, yes, you can.
Obama did. It was only when he was confronted with the reality of daily decisions that he showed himself. Palin is nowhere near so thin there, but I would call her performance stellar as she has shown weakness in making decisions that are problematic. It's easy to look good with that much oil revenue.
You must be a fan of Boxer or Campbell.
The reason Palin endorsed Fiorina was to stop Tom Campbell, who before the endorsement seemed to be the easy winner of the primary.
Voting started in 6 days and Tom Campbell was well ahead with 35% of the vote, and climbing.
“Campbell supports abortion rights and gay marriage, and argues that Boxer’s greatest asset against either of his two Republican opponents, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, would be the state’s decidedly un-conservative social views.
“She has always been able to move the debate over to the social issues. She will not be able to do that against me,” Campbell told POLITICO.”
“During the campaign for U.S. Senate in 2000, Campbell touted his 100 percent pro-choice voting record. He opposed a ban on “partial birth’ abortions, one of the most horrific abortion practices. (”Conservatives Agonize Backing Campbell,” Roll Call, August 7, 2000.)
Campbell in 1992 made abortion the center stage of his campaign. In the 1992 election, Campbell’s TV ad ran with the following caption: “For choice, for jobs, for U.S. Senate.” In another ad, he said, “I’m pro-choice and one of the most conservative members of Congress when it comes to spending.”In a Republican debate, he described his abortion views, as good for voters “looking for someone who is willing to break with the party line from time to time.” (Gerry Braun, “Herschensohn Won’t Pledge to Back GOP Pick; Senate Opponents Renew Acrimony in Last Debate,” San Diego Union Tribune, June 1, 1992.)
You've forgotten the bad and only remember the good.
That's fine, but it isn't a fair standard for someone to have to live up to.